Alfred Delvau (1825 – May 3, 1867) was a French journalist and writer born in Paris.
Alfred Delvau | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1825 Paris |
| Died | 1867 (aged 41–42) |
| Writing career | |
| Language | French |
| Genres | History, Culture, Language, Erotica |
Alfred Delvau (1825 – May 3, 1867) was a French journalist and writer born in Paris.
Alfred Delvau | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1825 Paris |
| Died | 1867 (aged 41–42) |
| Writing career | |
| Language | French |
| Genres | History, Culture, Language, Erotica |
Alfred Delvau was the son of a master tanner from the Faubourg Saint-Marceau; he recounts his Parisian childhood in Au bord de la Bièvre : impressions and memories, published in 1854.
He began writing articles for La Réforme in 1846, for Le Triboulet in January 1848, and in the Journal pour Rire. He was the private secretary of Ledru-Rollin and, in 1848, founded L'Aimable faubourien. Diary of the rabble with Poulet-Malassis, his closest friend, and Antonio Watripon. The June 23, 1848, during the insurrections, the three had together came under fire at the barricades, atrue des Mathurins .
Delvau published a History of the February Revolution (1850) and collected The Revolutionary Walls (1851). During the interlude of the Second Republic, Delvau wrote twice to the Minister of the Interior asking for help. Under the Second Empire, he earned his living by participating, in lexicographic work. He already joined the team of Maurice Lachâtre's Universal Dictionary in 1854.
He contributed to Le Figaro . He produced a Green Language Dictionary and an Erotic Dictionary, which led to legal proceedings.
He is the author of works on Paris and its history. He is one of the authors of the pastiche Le Parnassiculet contemporain which mocks Parnassian poets .
Delvau published widely on Parisian life, slang and literature, and several of his books were illustrated by prominent etchers. The following are among his principal works:
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1845 | Un mari au XVIIe siècle | "A Husband in the 17th Century" |
| 1848 | Grandeur et décadence des grisettes | "Grandeur and Decline of the Grisettes"; includes his own drawings, engraved by F. Leblanc |
| Ledru-Rollin : sa vie politique | "Ledru-Rollin: His Political Life" | |
| La Présidence s'il vous plaît ! | "The Presidency, If You Please!"; published as the work of an old-guard republican | |
| 1850 | À bas le suffrage universel ! | "Down with Universal Suffrage!" |
| Histoire de la Révolution de Février | "History of the February Revolution" | |
| 1854 | Au bord de la Bièvre | "On the Banks of the Bièvre"; subtitled Impressions et souvenirs; new edition in 1873 with a bibliography of his works |
| 1859–1860 | Bibliothèque bleue : romans de chevalerie | Medieval romances of chivalry (12th–16th centuries) issued in instalments and edited by Delvau; reissued in 1869 as Collection des romans de chevalerie mis en prose française moderne |
| 1859 | Bibliothèque franco-italienne | Series of four works: a life of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1859), Le Petit Caporal des zouaves, Les Martyrs de l'Italie sous la domination autrichienne and Histoire populaire de la campagne d'Italie |
| Les Chimères | "The Chimeras" | |
| Mémoires d'un vieux sou | "Memoirs of an Old Sou"; co-written with Pierre Bry | |
| 1860 | Les Dessous de Paris | "The Underside of Paris"; frontispiece by Léopold Flameng; reissued by Éditions Lurlure in 2017 |
| Dictionnaire topographique, historique et étymologique des rues de Paris | Dictionary of Parisian street names, published within Le Nouveau Paris | |
| 1862 | Histoire anecdotique des cafés et cabarets de Paris | "Anecdotal History of the Cafés and Cabarets of Paris"; illustrated with drawings and etchings by Gustave Courbet, Félicien Rops and Flameng |
| Lettres de Junius | "Letters of Junius"; subtitled Coups de plume sincères sur la littérature contemporaine | |
| 1863 | Les Amours buissonnières | "Truant Loves"; a Parisian novel |
| 1864 | Les Cythères parisiennes | "Parisian Cytheras"; anecdotal history of the dance halls of Paris, with 24 etchings and a frontispiece by Rops and Émile Thérond |
| Dictionnaire érotique moderne | "Modern Erotic Dictionary"; frontispiece by Rops | |
| 1865 | Gérard de Nerval, sa vie et ses œuvres | Study of Gérard de Nerval, with an etching by G. Staal |
| Mémoires d'une honnête fille | "Memoirs of an Honest Girl" | |
| Françoise | Previously unpublished chapter of the history of the Four Sergeants of La Rochelle, with an etching by Thérond | |
| Histoire anecdotique des barrières de Paris | "Anecdotal History of the Gates of Paris"; ten etchings by Thérond | |
| Le Fumier d'Ennius | "Ennius's Dung Heap"; frontispiece by Flameng | |
| 1866 | Dictionnaire de la langue verte | "Dictionary of the Green Language"; subtitled Argots parisiens comparés |
| Le Grand et le petit trottoir | "The Big and the Little Pavement"; a Parisian novel | |
| Aucassin et Nicolette | Edition of the medieval romance Aucassin and Nicolette, with a translation by Delvau | |
| Les Heures parisiennes | "Parisian Hours"; 25 etchings by Émile Bénassit | |
| Henry Murger et la Bohême | Study of Henri Murger | |
| Du Pont des Arts au Pont de Kehl | "From the Pont des Arts to the Pont de Kehl"; subtitled Reisebilder d'un Parisien | |
| 1867 | Les Lions du jour | "The Lions of the Day"; Parisian portraits, with etchings by Rops |
| Les Plaisirs de Paris | "The Pleasures of Paris"; a practical illustrated guide | |
| Les Sonneurs de sonnets, 1540–1866 | Study of the sonnet | |
| À la porte du paradis | Collection of short pieces, including Ma première leçon de boxe, Je me tuerai demain, Feu André-André and L'Héritier du mandarin | |
| 1884 | Les Cocottes de mon grand-père | "My Grandfather's Cocottes"; posthumous |
| 1894 | Miss Fauvette | Posthumous |
| 1903 | Fouterie de poète | "Poet's Fornication"; posthumous |
The volume Le Théâtre érotique français sous le Bas-Empire was published under Delvau's name in 1872 but is not his work. His name was added to the reprint because his books were then in fashion.
